HOW DO I COMPLAIN TO AUTHORITIES ABOUT DETENTION STANDARDS
VIOLATIONS AND RELATED ABUSES AT BERGEN, MONMOUTH, OR SUSSEX
COUNTY JAILS? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT I DO THIS?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has set up a simple and straight-forward procedure for
voicing complaints about detention standard violations. Following these procedures provides DHS with
the opportunity to remedy the violations. In addition to reporting the violations to the appropriate jail,
ICE, and DHS authorities below, we hope you will send a copy of your complaint to Families for
Freedom and the National Immigrant Justice Center to enable advocates to track how DHS responds to
complaints.
Report Violation to the Jail: If you have a problem with conditions of confinement, attempt to resolve
the problem with the jail. If you are a detainee, speak to a corrections officer on duty or file a written jail
grievance. If you are a family member or friend of a detainee, make an oral complaint by calling the jail
and ask to speak with the jail official in charge of the ICE detainees. After an initial or follow-up call, if
the problem is not resolved, make a written complaint by writing or faxing the jail, with attention to the
jail official in charge of the ICE detainees. Any written correspondence should be copied (“cc”) to Jorge
Urena, the ICE Enforcement Agent in charge of Bergen, Sussex, and Monmouth county jails.
Bergen County Jail
160 South River Street
Hackensack, NJ 08601
Tel: (201)527-3028
Fax: (201) 527-3035
Monmouth County Correctional
Institute: One Waterworks Road
Freehold, NJ 07928
Tel: (732)431-7863
Fax: (732) 294-5994
Keogh Dwyer Correctional Facility
(Sussex County Jail): 41 High Street
Newton, NJ 07860
Tel: (973)579-0875
Document these correspondences or attempts to contact jail officials, along with the jail official’s
responses or action promised even if such documentation is quite simple (e.g., copies of e-mail
correspondence or letter; notation of a phone call, message left, and whether the call was returned).
Keep copies of every written communication and notes from telephone conversations.
Report Violation to ICE in New York, Especially When Unresolved by the Jail: Try to resolve any
detention standards violation with the local ICE offices. When speaking or writing to ICE, include any
information regarding attempts to resolve problems with jail officials (e.g. name of person with whom
you spoke, date and time of conversation or message left, inaction or action by the jail in response).
Please direct complaints to Mr. Jorge Urena, ICE Enforcement Agent in charge of Bergen, Monmouth,
and Sussex county jails. Send a carbon copy (“cc”) to Ruben Perez, Assistant Field Office Director. If
the first correspondence with Mr. Urena does not resolve the problem, send a follow-up complaint
directly to Chris Shanahan, Field Office Director. Mr. Urena, Mr. Perez, and Mr. Shanahan can be
reached at: Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014 Tel:
212-620-3449/15, Fax: (212)620-7757.
Document these correspondences or attempts to contact local ICE, along with ICE responses or action
promised, even if such documentation is quite simple (e.g., copies of e-mail correspondence or letter;
notation of a phone call, message left, and whether the call was returned).
After reporting a detention standards violation to ICE in New York, PLEASE send a copy to
Families for Freedom to document detention standards violations and track the process of resolving
detention standards violations. Please send a copy of any correspondences to Families for Freedom, 25
Chapel Street, Suite 703 Brooklyn, New York 11201 Fax: 800.895.4454.
If Violations Are Unresolved with ICE in New York, Report the Problem to ICE Headquarters:
If New York ICE is non-responsive or fails to take appropriate action, report the problem to ICE
headquarters. Such grievances should be submitted in writing or by e-mail and contain detailed
information about the issue at hand and all prior attempts to solve the problem with local authorities.
Please direct these complaints to Mr. Timothy Perry, Acting Chief of the Detention Acquisition and
Support Branch, ICE Office of Detention and Removal, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 801
“I” Street, Suite 980, Washington, D.C. 20536. Tel: 202.732.2912; E-mail: timothy.perry@dhs.gov.
For complaints concerning medical and mental health care, advocates should copy Captain Philip Jarres,
Branch Chief of Field Operations for the United States Public Health Service, 1220 L Street NW, Suite
500, Washington DC 20005. Tel: 202.732.0100; E-mail: philip.jarres@dhs.gov.
File a complaint with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (OCRCL): Complaints
on detention standards violations which are unresolved at the local level should also be filed with the
DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Complaints should be submitted in writing or e-mail to:
Department of Homeland Security, Mail Stop #0800, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Washington,
DC 20528. For packages/overnight deliveries, contact the office at Tel: 202.401.1474, 202.401.0470 (Local
TTY); Toll Free: 1.866.644.8360, 1.866.644.8361 (TTY); E-mail: civil.liberties@dhs.gov.
In addition, complaints that relate to abuses by ICE and other law enforcement officials; profiling on the
basis of race, ethnicity, or religion; and other due process violations should be sent to OCRCL at this
address as well.
Website: http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/editorial_0373.shtm
After reporting the complaint to DHS, PLEASE send a copy to the National Immigrant Justice
Center. This allows advocates to track the process: The National Immigrant Justice Center will keep
a record of all issues brought to ICE headquarters and OCRCL. Please send a “bcc” of your e-mail
correspondence, or a hard copy of any other correspondence, to Tara Magner, Director of Policy,
National Immigrant Justice Center, 208 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 1818, Chicago, IL 60604.
Tel: 312.660.1363; Fax: 312.660.1505; E-mail: tmagner@heartlandalliance.org.
Prepared April 2007